The Burning Crusade Townhall/The Burning Crusade Bestiary
An official article by Blizzard Entertainment, this article is a copy of "The Burning Crusade Bestiary".' '''The original article did not survive the overhaul of the World of Warcraft Official Website, however, it can still be viewed through online archives. Bestiary '''Demons and ogres and trolls, oh my...' The Burning Crusade will introduce a whole new world and many new dungeons to the game. A multitude of strange, wondrous and terrifying creatures inhabit these wild, untamed lands. This page contains a few of the many new monsters that make up the vast and varied bestiary of the Burning Crusade. From arcane thieves to savage demigods, from nightmares of an ancient past to magnificent beasts never seen before, they all can be discovered in Outland and the still unexplored lands of Azeroth. The Broken The orcs of Outland were not the only ones to suffer the Burning Legion's demonic corruption. The Broken, led by the great Akama, fell prey to the demons' sinister influence, and just like the orcs, they too were changed by the corruption. Though they lost some of their former powers, the Broken still present a clear danger to all of Illidan's enemies throughout Outland. It almost seems like a miracle that the Broken somehow managed to preserve their shamanistic heritage, yet no one can say for sure how many of their traditions are still intact. From the safety of the fortified villages the Broken hold in Outland, they lord over their lesser cousins, the wretched Lost Ones. Eredar The eredar are one of the oldest known races in the universe. They comprise the commanders and strategists of the Burning Legion. Exceptionally skilled in magic, their mastery of the arcane arts is renowned throughout the scattered worlds of the Great Dark Beyond. The likes of Archimonde and Kil'jaeden, feared and loathed for their unmatched cruelty and cunning, are among the more infamous members of the eredar race – the vanguard of an unstoppable, demonic army bent on universal annihilation. Ethereals Treading the chaotic spaces between worlds, the ethereals are astral travelers who dwell within the Twisting Nether. They are known to be collectors and traders of arcane items and artifacts. Now drawn to Outland, many ethereals are seeking to track down its treasures and steal them back into the Twisting Nether. They are liars and scoundrels who will stop at nothing to pursue their mysterious aims. The ethereals have no care at all for the Burning Crusade. They would even play both sides of the conflict against each other if doing so would serve to further their own goals. Fel Orcs Mystery and speculation surround the corrupted fel orcs who recently appeared in Outland. Though little is known about these savage warriors, the most disturbing revelation to come to light is that their numbers appear to be steadily increasing. Even more perplexing is the fact that the orcs have discovered some alternate source of fel energies to feed upon, despite the slaying of Mannoroth and the Horde's subsequent release from demonic corruption. Regardless of their connection to fel energies, however, it is believed that this new breed is not working with the Burning Legion. What authority they do answer to remains a mystery. Fleshbeasts It is said that the sleep of reason produces monsters, that fantasy abandoned by sanity brings forth creatures of nightmare. For most, the horrors of their sleeping hours cannot follow them into the waking world; yet some are haunted by them even long after the veils of sleep have parted. The mindless fleshbeasts were brought into this world by Medivh, summoned from some unspeakable place beyond. Once, the wizard used the fleshbeasts in his clandestine experiments within the laboratories of Karazhan. Medivh is gone, but the slavering, hungering creatures of his twisted nightmares still remain, forever stalking the gloomy shadows of Karazhan. Forest Trolls Long before the rise and fall of the kingdoms of men, the Amani trolls of Lordaeron had built an enormous troll empire. After centuries of war and hate, an alliance of elves and humans finally dealt a crushing blow to the Amani when they defeated a great troll army at the foot of the Alterac Mountains. The empire did not recover from the defeat, and the trolls never rose as one nation again. Yet some forest trolls survived, each generation nurturing their hatred of the elves in the dark forests of the north for thousands of years. During the Second War, the Amani trolls were briefly allied to the Horde, and the forest troll Zul'jin was one of the greatest heroes the trolls have ever known. Fungal Giants The unique gases and nutrient-enriched soil of Zangarmarsh have given rise to a wondrous, diverse wetland ecology. The marsh's fungal giants stand as a prime example of the habitat's remarkable fauna. Though relatively non-aggressive, these lumbering behemoths are savagely efficient at dispatching their adversaries when provoked. They feed on other native swamp creatures, as well as any Lost Ones unlucky enough to stray too close to the giants' beloved hideaways. Gronn Monstrous. Cyclopean. Terror incarnate. Words cannot begin to describe the terrible gronn of Outland. Some say the gronn gave rise to the lesser ogres, yet if so, the gronn show but little love for their offspring, lording over the ogre clans with an iron fist. Though they are not famed for their intelligence, such rumors are cold comfort in light of the undeniable fact that the gronn wield devastating power. Naaru When Sargeras descended upon the eredar's homeworld, a race of sentient energy beings – the naaru – helped a small band of eredar to escape the dark titan's corruption. Soon the eredar refugees began calling themselves the draenei, or "exiled ones". Moved by the draenei's courage, the naaru blessed them with Light-given knowledge and power. Ultimately the benevolent naaru hoped to unite all who opposed the Burning Legion and forge these heroes into a single unstoppable army of the Light. In pursuit of that goal, the naaru have recently traveled to Outland in a dimensional fortress known as Tempest Keep. Most of the naaru disembarked to reconnoiter the ravaged land. In their absence, an army of blood elves led by Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider overran the keep and took its sole remaining guardian hostage. With Tempest Keep in blood elf hands, the naaru find themselves stranded in Outland, facing a precarious future. Ogre Lords It is believed that the massive, cyclopean gronn are the ancient ancestors of the ogres. If so, the ogre lords of Outland are the only ogres known to retain some of the physical traits of their gronn progenitors, such as the bony, calcified protrusions on their head and back, as well as a portion of the gronn's immense size and strength. Other unique characteristics possessed by the ogre lords are their intelligence and reasoning abilities, which are more acute than those of their ogre cousins. This combination of brute strength and increased intellect make the ogre lords worthy of both respect... and fear. Ravagers These predatory beasts are found all across Outland, often lurking behind rocky clusters and towering escarpments, waiting to pounce on any prey foolhardy enough to wander within striking range of their blindingly fast, razor-sharp claws. Whether or not these creatures were mutated by the volatile energies unleashed when Ner'zhul's multiple portals ripped Outland apart is still a source of speculation. One thing, however, is for certain: these vicious carnivores are not to be trifled with. Rock Flayers Rock flayers are one of Outland's indigenous species. Many careless wanderers have been killed by the primitive humanoids who roam the slopes and peaks of the Blade's Edge Mountains in murderous packs. Though they primarily hunt smaller mountain animals, they are not afraid of stalking potential prey that is much bigger than they are. There are accounts of packs of rock flayers taking down even mighty elekk that had wandered into the rock flayers' territory. Their vicious blade scythes and climbing claws are so sharp they can even cut through sheer rock, enabling the rock flayers to climb the most difficult overhangs with ease. Even for a predatory species, they are extremely fast and very aggressive. Spore Bats The deadly spore bats are a more highly evolved sub-species of the spore walkers. Like their walker cousins, the spore bats draw ingredients from the environment and combine them to form virulent toxins used in subduing the spore bats' prey. Unlike the walkers, however, the spore bats have the added advantage of flight in their arsenal. No corner of Zangarmarsh is safe as long as these silently gliding death-dealers are on the prowl. Spore Walkers It is believed that the spore walkers evolved over time from the simple organisms that dwell within the depths of Zangarmarsh into the more efficient hunting, killing and eating machines that they are today. Utilizing their environment, the spore walkers are able to derive toxins from the spores and fungi of the marsh, which they in turn use to stun or immobilize their prey. When traveling through the marsh, adventurers would be wise to steer clear of these highly accomplished predators. Warp Stalkers Warp stalkers are crafty, predatory hunters indigenous to Draenor that have been corrupted by the Burning Legion. Some reports even suggest that Legion officers employ the stalkers as mounts, utilizing the creatures' uncanny abilities to phase in and out of the physical and astral dimensions at will. Unbound by the constraints of physical reality, these powerful, mystical creatures often range far and wide: almost no realm is out of reach. References The bestiary can still be viewed here through http://web.archive.org/.